Nintendo’s history stretches all the way back to the late 1800s when they it was first started as a playing card company. Since then, the company eventually became the largest card maker in Japan at one point. However, with the decline of card sales and a variety of failed ventures threatening to destroy the company, Nintendo was dealt a good “hand”.

In 1970, former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi was visiting a Nintendo factory when he noticed an extendable hand. It turns out that the hand was made by the company janitor/maintenance man Gunpei Yokoi. Yokoi was ordered to make the hand production ready. The final product was the Ultrahand which would go on to sell over 1 million units and would be one of the earliest smash hits for Nintendo. This simple hand would set Nintendo on the course to become to gaming empire that it is today!

-Derek

Check out this 1988 excerpt from Inside Edition on Nintendo. In 20 years Nintendo has gone from newcomer rattling cages to veterans defending their international gaming empire. This video was an interesting look into a time when gaming was new and the dynamics of a game much simpler. Nintendo has often tried to stay true to its roots by making games that are focused more on a simple and fun gameplay dynamic than the dazzle of graphics and options. This move has arguably served to alienate hardcore gamers but then again from this report, those gamers wouldn’t have even had the chance to be hardcore were it not for Nintendo introducing gaming to the general public!

BTW Bill O’ Reilly didn’t seem so crusty and angry back then… what happened?

-Derek

According to recent sales records, the Nintendo DSi has been doing extremely well. However, this does not mean that the Nintendo DS Lite hasn’t been doing pretty good for itself also. In fact, some analysts are saying that the DS Lite may be competing against the DS Lite for sales. One possible reason for this is the fact that the DSi is not backwards compatible with old Gameboy Advanced games. Perhaps Nintendo thought it was time to move on and leave that generation completely but fans obviously still want to play some of the games from the Gameboy Advanced era. Is this anything that Nintendo is concerned with? Probably not, the company has been stacking money like there’s no tomorrow.

-Derek

[Source: Gixugifsdomain]

If you’ve been through the airport recently, you’ve probably noticed these vending machines showing up more and more frequently. The Japanese have had them for a while now and they’ve only recently begun showing up in American spots. These entertainment vending machines sell anything from movies and music to Nintendo DS games like the one pictured above. Is this the first step towards vending machines replacing stores? Probably not or else it would be a dumb decision by Best Buy to invest in the machine above. Look for the Best Buy Express machines at airports and other spots frequented by travelers. We haven’t heard of anything for the PSP yet… exclusive?

-Derek

The economy had to catch up with Nintendo at some point. Nintendo had been riding a wave of success which has been drowning Sony. While sales and profits have since gone down, Nintendo remains optimisitic. A variety of factors have contributed to the slowing of the company; one of which has been the strong Yen which drove down the value of foreign sales. Sony on the other hand, has been feeling the crunch for a while now but part of it is apparently their own doing as the company is in the middle of a major restructuring aimed at reinventing the corporate image. Despite all the flak that Sony’s gaming department has been receiving, being a conglomerate does have its advantages. While gaming sales have gone down, music and movie sales have gone up.

As for Nintendo, a gradual economic recovery in the near future as well as the upcoming Christmas season should keep their investors happy!

-Derek

[Source: ARS]

Check out this video of Super Michael Jackson Brothers. It is by far one of the best takes on the Super Mario meets Michael Jackson sub category of games. In case you were wondering, the animations for Michael Jackson were taken from the game Moonwalker which featured a Michael Jackson in his Smooth Criminal days rescuing kids from the villanous Mr. Big. Strangely enough, I actually enjoyed that game quite a bit. We’re not really sure if this is an edited video or if someone actually modded the game. If you did mod it, please send over a copy so we can play!

-Derek

Ever wondered what the old retired link is doing? Check out this spoof video made to resemble one of those E! True Hollywood stories to resemble what an aging Link has been reduced to doing. Its a far fetch from the promise of royalty in the land of Hyrule. It turns out that Link’s acquired job skills did not go over well in normal society. At least he’s not all strung out on mushrooms and stars like Mario ended up. I can’t help but wonder if Zelda is not exhibiting classic signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from all his adventures…

-Derek

Wii Sport Resort was recently released and it has taken one of the top spots in the Wii’s top selling launch titles. The title is like a much needed update to existing Wii games such as Wii Sports. It sold over 1.5 million at launch and even managed to give hardware sales a slight upsurge but Nintendo has always expected the title to sell mostly to existing Wii owners. At1.5 million , it is still almost half of what the number one spot; Smash Brothers Brawl, sold but it is impressive none the less. Between this, Smash Bros, Mario Kart and Wii Fit, Nintendo can expect a comfortable rest of the year for 2009!

-Derek

[Source: VGChartz]

The Mario Marathon has been held for the second time and it has already beaten out the first time by over $6,000. Participants basically play the games in the Super Mario franchise and their sponsors will donate money to charity the longer they play. Participants are going to play all games in the Super Mario Bros franchise and complete every level while acquiring every star. It sounds like a bad excuse to play videogames but when you consider that the money is going to a charity aimed at helping hospitals provide toys and games to kids in their care, it doesn’t seem bad at all. When we last checked, the team was aiming for $90,000 and the charity ended on the 14th of July. Do any of you guys know what happened? Feel free to let us know!

-Derek

[Source: Kotaku]